


Sketches of Tess in the Outbreak

by CatrionaMac



Category: The Last of Us
Genre: Drabble Collection, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-02
Updated: 2014-08-06
Packaged: 2018-02-11 11:26:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 31
Words: 3,100
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2066370
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CatrionaMac/pseuds/CatrionaMac
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is a series of drabbles* that are all character sketches of Tess, chronicling her life (and death) during the CBI outbreak. I originally posted them as part of a 30 day writing challenge on my Tumblr blog. Now, for the first time, I'm collecting them all here in one place and putting them in chronological order. </p>
<p>*A drabble is a short story written in exactly 100 words.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Broken

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote these drabbles in response to a [30 Days of Writing](http://catrionamacwrites.tumblr.com/post/87905174697/30-days-of-writing) prompt. The prompt words are the chapter titles, but click the writing prompt link if you want to see them all together in one place.

“Satan’s bonds have been broken! The Lord has come in mercy to judge us! Hallelujah!” The man is skinny, with a long beard, carrying a sign that says JUDGEMENT DAY.

“Daddy?” She edges closer to her father, overwhelmed by the crowds of frightened people surrounding her.

He takes her hand. “It’s okay, Tessa. Stay close to me.” Their apartment is outside the quarantine area, so they’ve come here to the intake center to be assigned new housing. Tess watches, wide-eyed, as a child with a bleeding shoulder is torn screaming from his mother’s arms.

“Don’t look, sweetheart,” her father says.


	2. Change

They’re starving. Two days ago, her father brought home a dead rat, showed her how to skin it and cook it. She ate it without complaint, grateful for anything, but there’s been nothing since then.

When he comes home she looks up, but he shakes his head. “No rations today.”

She looks down at her knees, trying to concentrate on something besides her hunger. Tears leak from her eyes.

He sits down and puts his arm around her. “We’re gonna change things, Tessa. No more waiting in ration lines. We’re gonna get what we need from now on.”

She nods.


	3. Pencil

 

"This is the most important weapon you have in this business," her father says.

Tess squints skeptically at the stub of wood in his hands. "A pencil? I thought you were gonna teach me how to use my knife." She's just shy of her fourteenth birthday, and he's promised to start taking her on outside runs with him.

"We'll get there. But you don't want to trust anyone else to keep your logbook or your inventory. Only way you stay in control is by understanding every aspect of your operation. Get it?"

She nods and takes the pencil. "Got it."

 


	4. Tough

“Tough girl, huh? Not feeling so tough now, are you?”

Blood drips into her throat from her broken nose. She spits it at him, he just grins as it dribbles from his face onto her torn shirt, her bare chest.

“Show you what I do to tough girls.” His eyes burn with sick lust as he unbuckles his belt, his other hand bruising her neck.

Blacking out, she scrabbles for something, anything. When her fingertips close on the pistol she doesn’t hesitate; his blood fills her mouth when he collapses on her.

She pushes him off, shaking uncontrollably. _Tough girl._

 


	5. Forgive

  _I know I told you I’d be coming back, but turns out this was a one-way trip. Please forgive me, Tessa. You’re in charge now, so don’t let anyone give you shit. I love you._

Slowly, she crumples the note and drops it on the floor. She looks up at Mike, all six feet of him trembling with barely suppressed tears. He found the note; her father left it where they’d be sure to find it.

“You got a problem following orders from me?” She stands as tall as she can. She’s barely seventeen.

“No,” he says, his voice thick.

 


	6. Nose

 “That’s the guy who broke my fuckin’ arm!” Richie points to a bearded man drinking alone, and puts his hand on her, in front of the whole goddamn bar.

That possessive hand is the last straw. Tess spins and punches him right in the nose; there’s a satisfying crunch as it breaks.

He drops like a stone. She steps over Richie toward the man he pointed out. His dark, amused eyes haven’t left her since she walked through the door.

“I need a new man on my crew. Interested?”

“Might be.”

The deep drawl makes her think of warm places.

 


	7. Blade

 "Nice knife."

Tess squints up at the new guy, the big one from Texas. _Is he trying to start shit with me?_

She holds up the blade she's just finished cleaning on its last victim's shirt. It's a sturdy switchblade, lean, hard, and wickedly sharp, so familiar it's an extension of her now.

"I keep it sharp." The warning in her voice is barely concealed. _I'm the boss. Off limits._

He shrugs. "It suits you."

There's no way he can know her father said the same thing when he gave her the knife.

"Get back to work, Texas," she snarls.

 


	8. Avoid

 Joel moves forward at her glance and breaks Richie’s kneecap. She likes the way she never has to tell Joel what to do.

She kneels by the sobbing man and says, “I was gonna overlook you setting up your own operation, you little fuck, but those pills? You stole those from me.”

His eyes roll wildly. “I didn’t know they was yours!”

She flicks her eyes at Joel, who delivers a bonecracking kick to Richie’s ribs.

“F-fuck you!”

She sighs. “You could have avoided this, Richie, but you’re just too stupid.” Standing, she draws her pistol and pulls the trigger.

 


	9. Sick

 A knock wakes her from a haze of codeine and rips a wet cough from deep in her chest. “Go away.” She fumbles with the blanket, shivering with fever.

The knock comes again, more insistently. Grumbling, she drags her aching body to the door and unlocks it. “This better be fucking good.” It’s almost a snarl.

“Found some aspirin. And cough medicine.” Joel shoos her from the door. “Get back in bed.”

She doesn’t know that he traded his last ration card for the medicine. She only knows it’s the kindest thing anyone’s done for her in a long time.

 


	10. Gone

She stalks over and says, without preamble, “Where’s Joel?”

He eyes her warily. “Didn’t realize you and big brother were an item.”

Tess slams her fist down on the table. “I’m not his girlfriend, I’m his fucking boss! We had a drop today, he didn’t show. I went to his place and he was just gone. Now you tell me where he disappeared to, before I break every fucking bone in your hand.”

Tommy looks up, startled. “Joel’s gone? Wait...what day is it?”

“September 27th. Why?”

Sagging, he says. “Sit down. Get a drink. I’ll tell you a story.”

 


	11. Mind

Joel’s missing for a week, so it’s a little bit of a surprise and a little bit of a relief when he shows up at her door, on time for their next drop but reeking of cheap booze.

She just stares at him when she opens the door.

“You got somethin’ on your mind?” he says, his eyes challenging.

_Yes,_  she thinks.  _Why’d I have to hear about your daughter from your fucking brother, Joel? Where the fuck did you disappear to? Is this gonna be a habit?_

“Not a thing,” she says. “Nice of you to show up, Texas.”

 


	12. Sharp

She doesn’t usually drink. She likes to stay sharp, and alcohol dulls the edge. But tonight is an exception.

Their run went horribly wrong; only she and Joel made it back to the rendezvous point. She saw Paulie shot down by the military, and she has no idea what happened to Mike. She’s got a bullet in her shoulder that’s burning like a fucking live ember, fucking FEDRA has her guns, and who the fuck knows how she’s gonna pay Bill.

Joel hands her another glass of scotch and a rag. “Bite down,” he says. “Let’s get that bullet out.”

 


	13. Sleep

“Ahhhh! Joel! Don’t stop!” She’s so close. Her head reels from the whiskey and regrets are for tomorrow. Right now, this is all she needs, to feel him deep inside her and to strain her sweating body against his.

“Tess…” There’s a warning in his voice. He’s getting close himself, and she can’t afford that complication.

“Don’t you dare, Texas,” she croons, rolling her hips against him. “Ohhhh…” There. Her orgasm rolls through her while she moans and bites his neck. He’s seconds behind her, withdrawing just in time.

Momentarily blissed on endorphins, they fall asleep in each other’s arms.

 


	14. Foot

Tess stares dully at the empty whiskey bottle on the table next to her and takes another sip of flat, warm water.

Her head is pounding. She glances across the room, thinking maybe it’ll be gone, but no. The foot is still there, sticking out from under the sheet. It hasn’t moved once in the hour since she staggered out of bed.

She frowns. _Damn it. Never should have let it go so far._ That foot is a complication, and Tess doesn’t like complications.

Suddenly angry, she crosses the room and kicks him. “Get up, Texas. Time to get out.”

 


	15. Cold

Tess hesitates before knocking, which only makes her angry. This is no big deal. It’s not like she’s got feelings for him; it’s just too cold tonight to sleep alone.

She knocks firmly, her face casual while her traitor heart pounds in her throat.

“What do you want?” He’s surly when he opens the door, body angled to block her entrance.

“Nice to see you, too.” She pushes past him.

“Tess…”

“I’m cold. I thought you might have an extra blanket or something...else...to keep me warm.”

The sudden heat in his eyes warms her better than a fire.

 


	16. Smile

“I ain’t tired.” Joel’s smile is overconfident. Cocky, even. It pushes all her buttons in just the right ways, and the bone-deep weariness she felt a second ago vanishes.

Damn, she should tell him to go home, but now every nerve ending in her body is alive. She hates that he can do that to her, with just a smile, even as her stomach trembles with need.

She kisses him roughly and pushes him down to the stained mattress. “Remember who you work for, big guy.”

“Always do, boss.” His lips, hot and wet against her skin, leave empty kisses.

 


	17. Books

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?”

Joel pauses, hand hovering over the page, holding a blue pen. He’s visibly surprised by the anger in her voice.

“I was just makin’ today’s log entry. Tryin’ to save you some time.”

She snatches the pen and the book out of his hand. “I do the books. I have a fucking system, Joel.” In pen. He wrote in fucking pen, goddamn it. Her hands are shaking. She always writes entries in pencil, just in case she needs to adjust something. Pen is an unacceptable loss of control.

His face hardens. “Fine.”

 


	18. Necklace

“Here.” Joel presses something into her hand. “I saw you looking at this earlier.”

It’s a necklace, a gold pendant on a fragile chain, completely frivolous. Useless. The runner she’d killed had been wearing it around its neck.

Tess doesn’t know what makes her more uncomfortable, that Joel saw her looking at it, or that he understood her well enough to know she’d never take it herself.

She laughs to cover her confusion. “Thanks. It might be worth a few bullets.” He shrugs and turns around, and she makes damn sure he doesn’t see her slip it into her pocket.

 


	19. Storm

“There’s a storm comin’.”

She doesn’t ask him how he knows, Joel’s like fucking Yoda with that shit. She squints at the clear sky, the humid air making her skin prickle with sweat, but whatever atmospheric disturbance he can feel, it’s not something she understands.

“Fine,” she says finally. “We’ll wait it out.” She hates waiting.

Later, when he has her pressed against the wall, one leg wrapped around his waist and the other trembling beneath her, she whispers in his ear, “Good call, Texas.” The rain pounds on the roof, but the thunder of her own heart is louder.

 


	20. Wind

"This is boring. And I'm fucking hungry, Joel. There's gotta be..." Tess gasps as a strong tug jerks the rod she’s holding. She's so startled she almost drops it. "What...what do I...?"

"Wind it. Wind the reel. Just...yeah, like that." He drops his rod and moves behind her, his arms guiding hers as she plays the fish on the line.

She shouts when the silver trout wriggles out of the water; he gives her a rare smile before moving away.

That's the moment, at that tiny stream outside Lincoln, when Tess knows she's hooked just like that fish.

 


	21. Sky

“Just look at that sky. Best thing about campin’ rough like this.” He’s lying beside her, shirtless because of the heat.

She shrugs, playing with his crisp chest hair. She’s always been a city girl; the night sky was never something that impressed her. “You feeling philosophical tonight?”

He catches her hand and raises it to his lips. “No.”

The new tone in his voice has her kicking her boots off and working feverishly to push her jeans down. She pulls him over on top of her, and when he slides himself into her wet sex she sees shooting stars.

 


	22. Rock

“Here, this might come in handy.” He hands her a rock, smooth and round and just the right size for her hand.

She hefts it. It’s got a good weight, a little heavier than a brick. She doesn’t ask him where the fuck he found something like this. Joel’s always turning up with odd but useful stuff. It’s like a superpower.

“And to think, men used to give women diamonds,” she jokes. He cracks a tiny smile.

Later, when she’s bashing a runner in the head with the perfect rock, she has reason to be thankful it wasn’t a diamond.

 


	23. Snow

The loose snowball hits him on the back of the head, exploding into a fine glitter of ice and sliding down the back of his collar.

“You did NOT just fuckin’ do that.” The disbelief on Joel’s face melts into a grim smile, and she knows she’s in for it.

His snowball hits her in the chest, then they’re flinging the fresh snow at each other as fast as they can, not even packing it into snowballs. They leave ice trails in the air. Finally he tackles her and she actually giggles; he stops the noise with his cold lips.

 


	24. Deal

“You gonna deal, or just stare, Texas?” Tess discards her bra in the center of the table and stretches like a cat.

Joel’s wearing his enigmatic smile, the one that always makes her play to lose, and his jeans. Nothing else. He shuffles the dogeared cards and deals another hand without a word.

She picks up her hand and almost frowns. He’s dealt her three queens, a ten, and a jack. She steals a quick glance at his chest, then puts all but one queen and the ten back on the table. “Gimme three.” Sometimes losing needs a little help.

 


	25. Soft

“Tess...I’m gonna…”

“Don’t stop.” She locks her legs around his hips. The timing is fine, and though she rarely allows this to happen, she needs it right now.

“Ohhh...fuck…” His eyes close and he convulses into her. When he opens them again, they’re soft and deep, open but unreadable. She’s never seen his eyes, usually so closed and hard, look like this. His whole face looks soft for a second, and she feels her own face opening in response.

She sees when he slams the walls back into place, shutting her out even while he’s still inside her.

 


	26. Road

It’s hidden off the road north of Boston, their biggest shipment yet, guns and a fuckload of ammo. Now they just have to get the crates to Robert, and they’ll be flush with ration cards.

Joel’s hands close on her shoulders from behind and he murmurs in her ear, “Why don’t we lay low after this? Take it easy for a while, just the two of us?”

She laughs and rolls her eyes to cover her uneasiness. “You’d get bored after a day.”

She misses the flash of disappointment in his eyes, but it matches the one in her chest.

 


	27. Teeth

She’s tipped back, off balance, when it happens. She can’t get her hands up quickly enough. She’s at a disadvantage, overpowered. She doesn’t even have time to think, it happens so quickly.

Hands like iron grip her shoulders and her shirt is pulled back, her skin exposed. An open, wet mouth breathes hot on her neck, just at the juncture of her shoulder.

Teeth close on her flesh and bite down.

“Ahhh!” She arches her back.

He stops and looks up at her, brown eyes amused, his beard not quite hiding his smile. “Like that?”

“Do it again,” she breathes.

 


	28. Dying

_“Only two kinds of people in this world, Tessa: the dying, and the dead. Anyone with a bite is already dead.”_

Tess remembers her father’s words, delivered over her cousin Matt’s still-warm body just after the pistol that shattered his heart slipped from her nerveless fingers.

And yet...when Ellie screams, “I’m not infected!” Tess hesitates. Ellie’s exposed bite is old and scarred over. Three weeks, she’d said, not anything like the fresh, bloody mess of Matt’s shoulder when that runner caught him.

What if…

What if there are more than two kinds of people? If Ellie is something new?

 


	29. Ellie

A vaccine. It’s been promised so long the word’s lost all meaning, but there’s the proof, standing right here before her in the form of a punk-ass little kid with dirty jeans and a stubborn jaw.

Three weeks. Infected three weeks ago, but still alive.

Ellie pulls her shirt back down over the bite on her arm, her green eyes wide with fear, but defiant.

Standing in the ruins of Boston, Tess knows death waits for her around any corner. But for one bright second, she glimpses a future without all _this_ , and she feels a tiny spark of hope.


	30. Promise

_“Routine run, Tessa. I’ll be back in three hours.”_

_She runs to her father and kisses him. “Promise?”_

_He winks. “Promise.”_

She thinks of that, her father’s last word to her, fifteen years later on the floor of the Boston capital. She wants to say,  _Promise me you’ll take her to Tommy. Promise me, Joel._  She and Joel never made any promises to each other. What would be the point? She uses the word obligation instead.  _There’s enough here that you have to feel some sort of obligation to me._

Tess knows promises aren’t worth the breath they’re made with.

 


	31. Silence

She told him to go and he went. Tess doesn’t know why she’s surprised, why seeing him turn his back hurts her so much. No, she knows, but it doesn’t matter now. She feels the infection hot in her veins, and now she's out of time. He didn't say goodbye. Didn't turn around. She hates him a little for that.

A deep breath...she turns. Five rounds in her pistol. It will barely slow the soldiers down, but it might give him enough time to escape with the girl.

Gunfire shatters the air, shatters her chest, then there’s only silence.

**Author's Note:**

> I replaced one of the original drabbles from my Tumblr series ([22\. Dying](http://catrionamacwrites.tumblr.com/post/90451884457/22-dying-one-misplaced-foot-and-she-slips-from-a)) with a new one. The original was a standalone piece that listed five alternate deaths for Tess. I felt this one drabble couldn't really be integrated into the collection, so I replaced it with the one of Tess finding out Ellie was infected. Also, a friend pointed out that I didn't have any drabbles with Ellie, so I added a bonus for this series that wasn't part of the 30-day prompt series (Chapter 29, Ellie). All of the other drabbles are as originally posted, except for a few minor edits here and there for continuity. Click [here](http://catrionamacwrites.tumblr.com/tagged/30-days-of-tess) if you'd like to see the original series on Tumblr.


End file.
